Climbing in Turkey, would love advice!

What’s up y’all?
I’m in Turkey for the summer, and I’m lucky enough to have a small bouldering gym within walking distance, but it’s driving me crazy. Definitely looking to get outside.

If you’ve climbed here before, I’d love your advice! Did you link up with people in the area? Where to climb, how to get there, lodging, and costs would also be super helpful. 

Let me know if you’ll be in Turkey, and I’d love to link up! I’m in the country until mid-September!

I'm following as I may be going there in April 2020 for some climbing and such.

Probably would be helpful to let us know what part of Turkey you are in, as it's a rather large country.

Hey Phil, I’m in Istanbul but flights are cheap and buses cheaper so I can be anywhere in Turkey in a day, max. I’m working but my schedule is flexible.

Ballikayalar is near me, and I’d love to go to Geyikbayiri as well. I heard the latter would be extremely hot to climb in the summer though. If anyone has input on that crag, I’d appreciate it!

For summer climbing Aladaglar has plenty to offer. From hard single pitch sport to long multi-pitch traditional climbs. I’ve been there twice and totally fell in love with the place. There is a guidebook for that area, so finding your way around should not be a problem

I was in Geyikbayiri about 10 years ago in late Sept./early Oct. and it was much too hot to climb in the sun throughout that time period and, unfortunately, a good part of the crag was in the sun for much of the day. There are some areas that get decent morning shade, and one sector (Trebbana) that has basically all day shade--though the overall rock quality there was not as good as on most of the rest of the crag--though still reasonable and with a number of worthwhile routes of varying grades. I don't know what the current situation is, but there were climber-oriented accommodations--both cabins and camping, located right at the crags (Jo-Si-To and Climbers Garden) and perfectly pleasant. Jo-Si-To had/has a restaurant and there are a few others within walking distance. There is a small open market just up the road a couple of days a week but otherwise you need to drive or hitch to buy supplies if you are self-catering. It is an excellent area with some climbs to rival the best on Kalymnos (though not nearly as many) but I would not consider it to be a good summer objective. If you do fly down (too far to conveniently bus from Istanbul) it is about an hours drive from the Antalya airport--and the lodging usually provides rides to and from with advanced notice.

Definitely not a good time for Geyikbairi! Check it out in the absolute coldest months though, it is incredible!
In the mountains above Geyik is a crag called Çitdibi, which is world class and should be good in september/october.

On the east coast Datça looks incredible, and around Izmir should be some good options. Those should be ok in the shoulder seasons.

In the summer Aladaglar seems like the place to be. I would of course try to find climbing facebook pages for specific areas... for me they would be tough to decipher. 

Thanks for all the input! Juan, Phil, I’ll definitly check out Aladaglar and look for the guidebook. Thanks for recommendations on the other three climbing areas Phil. I’ll check FB like you suggested. Alan, thanks for the tips on Geyikbairi. Based on what I looked into the accommodation has remained the same, so it seems like a sweet place. I’ll definitely be back to Turkey during winter in the future to tackle routes at that crag. 

Emory, check out this treasure trove of a blog post to start your research:
https://mojagear.com/destinations/2018/01/30/climbing-destination-guide-turkey/

Thank you for the advice Yaman!  

You’re welcome! I hope you decide to come to Turkey next spring. It’s a really beautiful country

I'm hopeful to do the same.  It looks like an awe-inspiring place.